1. The Field of the Present Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to cover systems for cargo areas of vehicles, and more particularly, but not necessarily entirely, to tonneau cover systems for vehicles.
2. Description of Related Art
Vehicle and trailer manufacturers supply various models of trailers and vehicles that have open beds on which to place cargo for transit. Such vehicle and trailer beds typically have limited or no method of protecting cargo from the weather, water or debris. Furthermore, such vehicle and trailer beds typically have a limited or no method of securing cargo from movement.
Originally if cargo needed to be protected from the weather, water or debris it was covered with a waterproof tarp. However, tarp users objected to the bulky and awkward to handle nature of tarps. Tarps can come loose at high speeds and flap away from the cargo they protect, thereby allowing the cargo to come in contact with the weather, water or debris. Additionally, the cargo and tarps had to be secured using separate strapping, cords or rope, which can be equally awkward to handle.
Thereafter, several types of vehicle bed enclosures were designed to cover the bed in such a way that small cargo could be protected from the weather. U.S. Pat. No. 7,963,585 to Jones discloses a tonneau cover system which can cover the vehicle bed. However, this tonneau cover limits the size of cargo that can be protected from the weather. Cargo larger than the height of the vehicle or trailer bed walls cannot be transported while this tonneau system is in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,828,361 to Spencer discloses a tonneau cover that is of expensive construction, with many specially manufactured parts and is limited in its ability to keep water and weather off the cargo. Furthermore, this design uses a hook and loop fastener to secure the tonneau fabric to the frame. Over time, this hook and loop fastening system will lose its ability to fasten the tonneau fabric to the frame. Additionally, this hook and loop fastening systems does not adequately keep water from entering the cargo bed. When a vehicle or trailer is traveling at high speeds, air pressure will force water to migrate through the hook and loop fastening system into the covered vehicle bed thusly, exposing the cargo to moisture.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,604,282 B2 to Spencer shows a tonneau cover rail system that is used to attach the tonneau cover to a truck bed wall. Unfortunately, this tonneau cover rail system protrudes into the cargo space of the vehicle bed and limits the vehicles cargo storage capacity.
U.S. Pat. RE41,078 to Schmeichel discloses a tonneau cover tension adjuster apparatus. However, this design incorporates a complicated and expensive construction tonneau cover tension adjuster which is prone to mechanical failure. Additionally, this design requires manual adjustment to the proper tension.
Several other types of tonneau systems and cargo covers have been proposed—for example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,735,881 to Steffens, U.S. Pat. No. 7,621,582 to Schmeichel, U.S. Pat. No. 7,815,239 to Schmeichel, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,905,536 to Yue. Although all these designs have unique attributes, all tonneau covers hereto known suffer from a number of disadvantages and short comings:
(a) The fastening systems and methods used to connect the tonneau cover rail system to the bed are not adequate to keep moisture from entering the covered cargo space;
(b) The fastening systems wear with use and allow water to migrate into the bed cargo space;
(c) Existing tonneau covers systems cannot expand to cover loads larger than the height of vehicle or trailer bed walls;
(d) No tonneau product exists that can secure cargo from movement; and
(e) Existing tonneau covers do not self-retract and tension to a flat position after a large cargo load has been removed.
The prior art is thus characterized by several disadvantages that are addressed by the present disclosure. The present disclosure minimizes, and in some aspects eliminates, the above-mentioned failures, and other problems, by utilizing the methods and structural features described herein.
The features and advantages of the present disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the present disclosure without undue experimentation. The features and advantages of the present disclosure may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.